What do you think?
Rate this book
Shivering World
A planet on the edge of life. A woman on the edge of hope.
Microbiologist Graysha Brady-Phillips accepts a hazardous position assisting in terraforming the planet Goddard, partly to get out of debt and partly in desperate hope. There's a chance that the colonists are conducting illegal genetic research, which could provide a cure for the genetic disorder slowly killing her.
But genetic engineering is banned by the powerful Eugenics Board, and Graysha is the daughter of the board’s high commissioner. When the colonists discover her connection, she is ostracized—the possible penalties for conducting their radical research include death. Graysha tries to pursue her profession and befriend the colonists, but soon she is dodging attempts on her life.
When her new world is pushed to the brink, Graysha must decide what she will cling to.
Microbiologist Graysha Brady-Phillips accepts a hazardous position assisting in terraforming the planet Goddard, partly to get out of debt and partly in desperate hope. There's a chance that the colonists are conducting illegal genetic research, which could provide a cure for the genetic disorder slowly killing her.
But genetic engineering is banned by the powerful Eugenics Board, and Graysha is the daughter of the board’s high commissioner. When the colonists discover her connection, she is ostracized—the possible penalties for conducting their radical research include death. Graysha tries to pursue her profession and befriend the colonists, but soon she is dodging attempts on her life.
When her new world is pushed to the brink, Graysha must decide what she will cling to.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
18 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Kathy Tyers
33 books236 followersShe is the first child of Dr. H.C. Moore, an accomplished dentist and jazz musician who had served during WWII as a test pilot, and Barbara Putnam Moore, flutist with several California orchestras.
Kathy attended Montana State University in Bozeman, where she received a degree in microbiology, married, performed widely on her flute, and then became certified as a K-12 classroom teacher. After teaching primary grades for three years, she retired to start a family. Her only son took long naps and enjoyed playing alone, so in 1983 she set her electric typewriter on her kitchen table and started writing a book. Shortly after finishing the first draft, she joined a writers group, where she learned to critique and self-edit. First novel FIREBIRD was published by Bantam Spectra books in 1987, followed by FUSION FIRE, CRYSTAL WITNESS, and SHIVERING WORLD.
In 1993, her Bantam Spectra editor asked if she’d like to be a Star Wars © writer. THE TRUCE AT BAKURA hit the bestseller list, and life got hectic, exciting, and generally crazy for a while.
After one more novel for Bantam Spectra (ONE MIND’S EYE), Kathy took a sabbatical to deal with family issues. Targeting the Christian Booksellers Association market, she attended several writers conferences before concluding that no CBA publisher was interested in science fiction. She made three attempts to write a contemporary women’s novel, then turned back to her secret passion, which was to revive the unfinished FIREBIRD series. A year later, she connected with Steve Laube of Bethany House Publishers. Laube, a science fiction fan, was willing to take a risk on the project. Rewritten to enhance their underlying spiritual themes, FIREBIRD and FUSION FIRE reappeared in 1999 and 2000, followed in 2000 by a third Firebird novel, CROWN OF FIRE. Meanwhile, the call to write Star Wars came again, this time from Del Rey Books. NEW JEDI ORDER: BALANCE POINT was also a 2000 release.
In 2001, Kathy received the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference’s Pacesetter award for her efforts in the growing Christian science fiction genre. However, during the years that followed, worsening family troubles forced another sabbatical. Another SF novel was started but shelved. Bethany House asked for a new edition of SHIVERING WORLD, which Kathy completed while working at a retail greenhouse.
Kathy was widowed in 2004 and returned to school in 2006. Also in 2006, she completed working with classical guitarist Christopher Parkening on his autobiography, GRACE LIKE A RIVER. She has received a Diploma of Christian Studies from Regent College in Vancouver, BC, and she is working on toward a Master’s degree, mentoring several apprentice writers through the Christian Writers Guild, and drafting a new science fiction novel. Her Canadian experience includes worshipping at a marvelous Anglican church with stained-glass windows, kneeling rails, and challenging Scriptural preaching.
In October 2014 Kathy married William Thomas Gillin.
Kathy attended Montana State University in Bozeman, where she received a degree in microbiology, married, performed widely on her flute, and then became certified as a K-12 classroom teacher. After teaching primary grades for three years, she retired to start a family. Her only son took long naps and enjoyed playing alone, so in 1983 she set her electric typewriter on her kitchen table and started writing a book. Shortly after finishing the first draft, she joined a writers group, where she learned to critique and self-edit. First novel FIREBIRD was published by Bantam Spectra books in 1987, followed by FUSION FIRE, CRYSTAL WITNESS, and SHIVERING WORLD.
In 1993, her Bantam Spectra editor asked if she’d like to be a Star Wars © writer. THE TRUCE AT BAKURA hit the bestseller list, and life got hectic, exciting, and generally crazy for a while.
After one more novel for Bantam Spectra (ONE MIND’S EYE), Kathy took a sabbatical to deal with family issues. Targeting the Christian Booksellers Association market, she attended several writers conferences before concluding that no CBA publisher was interested in science fiction. She made three attempts to write a contemporary women’s novel, then turned back to her secret passion, which was to revive the unfinished FIREBIRD series. A year later, she connected with Steve Laube of Bethany House Publishers. Laube, a science fiction fan, was willing to take a risk on the project. Rewritten to enhance their underlying spiritual themes, FIREBIRD and FUSION FIRE reappeared in 1999 and 2000, followed in 2000 by a third Firebird novel, CROWN OF FIRE. Meanwhile, the call to write Star Wars came again, this time from Del Rey Books. NEW JEDI ORDER: BALANCE POINT was also a 2000 release.
In 2001, Kathy received the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference’s Pacesetter award for her efforts in the growing Christian science fiction genre. However, during the years that followed, worsening family troubles forced another sabbatical. Another SF novel was started but shelved. Bethany House asked for a new edition of SHIVERING WORLD, which Kathy completed while working at a retail greenhouse.
Kathy was widowed in 2004 and returned to school in 2006. Also in 2006, she completed working with classical guitarist Christopher Parkening on his autobiography, GRACE LIKE A RIVER. She has received a Diploma of Christian Studies from Regent College in Vancouver, BC, and she is working on toward a Master’s degree, mentoring several apprentice writers through the Christian Writers Guild, and drafting a new science fiction novel. Her Canadian experience includes worshipping at a marvelous Anglican church with stained-glass windows, kneeling rails, and challenging Scriptural preaching.
In October 2014 Kathy married William Thomas Gillin.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
April 14, 2021
That was quite a ride! My mom originally bought this for herself and read it a couple years before I got around to it. She fell in love with it and the author's writing in general and recommended it to me. Now that I've read it I can say I feel similarly. What a complex story and world Ms. Tyers has created. It's very futuristic and yet grounded enough in real science, as well as actual theoretic science as to feel grounded and believable. Before all of you who weren't good at science class in school go running for the hills, I'm not a science wiz either, though there are things I enjoy about it. Kathy Tyers frames the science in this book in such a way that any reader can understand. It's simply an element of the story. You don't have to know all the nitty-gritty bits to follow along, you just have to trust that she'll tell you what you need to know, and she always does.
We start the story with Graysha, a woman with a genetic disease (a made-up one called "Flaherty's"). Low blood sugar-especially over-exertion when her sugar is low- can send her entire body cramping up until she can't move. As I recall, it's also slowly causing problems with her arteries and will eventually kill her at a young age. And there's no cure. Yet. Despite her illness she begins working in the microbiology department of a planet called Goddard, which is being terraformed to try to make it habitable for humans in the future. As the synopsis states, she's taken the job partially to get out of debt caused by a divorce, and in the desperate hope that the rumors concerning possible (illegal) genetic research among the colonists might be true and able to cure her.
What I loved about this story was its complexity and depth. While mainly about the many challenges and complications that could come with terraforming a plenet, there's also political machinations, attempted murder, discussions of faith, and a small sprinkling of romance.
Those who are tired of romance taking over stories that are supposed to be about other things, you'll be happy to know that's not the case here. The romance is very much a slow burn sub plot and the couple doesn't even kiss until nearly the end. There is one jerk who'safter Graysha for a while but she's smart and mature enough to understand he just wants to make her another notch in his belt and eventually tells him to buzz off completely. (I cheered. :p)
The political intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat as the characters tried to figure out who's sabatoging the planet, who's trying to hurt, if not kill Graysha, and who attempted to murder the current political leader, who never did anything to hurt anyone himself.
I also thought the faith element was particularly well done. There's enough of it to make the book Christian fiction, but it's not preaching *at* the reader, while also not watering faith down as feel-good fluff. It's a very natural feeling plot element as Graysha has fallen away from her mother's apostate "church" (which has started worshiping the human organism as holy rather than its creator, God) and is grappling with what she believes now. The author does a really great job showing how there are plenty of people who may call themselves "Christian", but unless it agrees with the Bible that Jesus is God, the creator of all things, and teaches that He should be the center of your life above all else, it ain't Christianity.
But really, the main focus of the story is the planet and making it habitable and all the complications that come with that. I especially thought it was cool that Tyers apparently has a degree in microbiology and was able to use that knowledge with Graysha also being a microbiologist.
Even as long as this book was, and as long as it took me to finish, I honestly wasn't quite ready for it to end when it did. A part of me wanted it to keep going so I could see the colonists survive and thrive and generally thumb their noses at the Gaea Consortium for what they did to them (no spoilers, LOL). But all things considered, Tyers ended it in a good place, leaving you with a sense of hope.
I give Shivering World a shining 5 stars and look forward to discovering more of this author's works, which my mother assures me are also excellent.
Content Advisory:
Violence:
As the book starts, Graysha learns that the person who held her job before her died, and may have been intentionally sent out into the storm that killed him.
Someone attempts to harm and even kill Graysha multiple times (attempted crushing with metal crates, poisoning, and carbon monoxide) hoping to make it look like an accident. Some of these are close calls and we do read of some of Graysha's pain when her muscle cramp attacks and collapses happen.
More attempted murder happens when another character is infected with a fictional insulin-producing bacteria that almost kills him. We read of this person in the hospital while the doctor tries to stabilize them but there are no gross descriptions or anything of that nature.
One character has no choice but to shoot and kill someone in defense of himself and another person. Blood is mentioned in a brief, sentence-long description of the body on the floor and the person is very shaken by having had to make that choice.
Trev gets scratched up by some scifi cat/weasel combo critters. Pain is mentioned and he bleeds a bit, but the scratches aren't serious.
A plane crash happens, causing the pilot to be knocked unconscious. Mention of a bloody gash on his head.
Novia orders a medical clinic to be destroyed by missile. There is an audio recording that gives warning to the people inside, but it is made clear that the attack will still happen whether the people inside leave or not. The reader knows that the people do escape, but when Novia is told that there were still heat signals inside when the missile was launched, she doesn't care.
Sexual:
One of Graysha's new co-workers is a well known womanizer who locks his sights on Graysha the moment they meet. A female coworker warns Graysha of "social diseases" and tells her that the guy has gone after pretty much every female Gaea employee and even some of the young female colonists. His interactions with Graysha are always flirtatious. She describes the way he looks at her as intensely sexual and says he makes her feel certain "urges" she hasn't felt since she was with her ex-husband. However, despite these physical responses she understands that he will never truly love or respect her. When he gets her alone and tries to romance her, she allows him to kiss her once (mild description) but then tells him she believes in marriage and can't let this go further. He backs off but makes it clear the offer is still open. She puts up with him continuing to be flirtatious until he tries once again to get her alone and she finally stands up for herself and tells him she won't tolerate it anymore and he needs to stop this permanently. She avoids him as much as possible after that.
Graysha and Lindon experience attraction that grows very slowly during the story. Once the relationship becomes serious they share a couple kisses now and then (mild description each time) but overall the relationship is much more focused on the emotional and spiritual connection between them than the physical and is much healthier than Graysha's relationship with her ex husband (who was a sociopath.)
An adult woman with questionable morals in multiple areas, acts flirtatious with a teenage boy in order to get information out of him as someone else. He is of age to be married on that planet but it's still a tad uncomfortable as you know the woman is manipulating him. It seems nothing major or overly inappropriate happens between them, though, other than her dancing for him and him singing for her.
Spiritual:
As stated in the review, the story features characters with many different beliefs, some of which are only pretending to be Christianity until it is later revealed that their beliefs have nothing whatsoever to do with the Bible's actual teaching or any relationship with Jesus.
Graysha's mother, Novia, is part of an apostate church that has basically started worshipping the "holy" human organism over the God who made it. In fact, they call their church the "Church of the Universal Father" (CUF) because they basically don't care who you think God is as long you hold the human body sacred and never do anything to genetically alter or even heal it. They consider anyone who does so to be less than human and undeserving of basic human rights.
Another character pretends for political reasons to be part of the Lwuite (the colonists are called Lwuites) church but proves herself an atheist.
The Lwuites as a people may not all hold the same spiritual beliefs but some at least, including Lindon, practice biblical Christianity.
At the start, Graysha has fallen away from the apostate CUF but doesn't know what she actually believes. During the story (in between all the scifi stuff) she grapples with the contrast between what the CUF taught her, what Lindon believes (which she sees reflected in his behavior and choices) and what she reads in the e-copy of the book of John that he lends her. She does eventually accept Jesus as her personal savior.
Other:
Graysha's ex-husband, Ellard, was a sociopath who treated her badly during their marriage, constantly blaming her for everything and putting her down. Though she has moved on from him, some of the lingering effects of his treatment of her are apparent. However, this is something she slowly overcomes.
There's talk of how some of those who were caught doing genetic research and alteration were treated by the Eugenics Board in the past. They were given full-body irradiation to destroy the alterations and then put in jail and allowed to die of the many cancers the irradiation caused them. This is given as second hand information, though. No descriptions.
A teenage boy named Trev has come to Goddard in order to hide from his father, a pop star with serious issues around perfection. His father has gotten surgical alterations over the years to make himself has gorgeous as possible. It seems that he married a famous and gorgeous woman with the goal of having a gorgeous child he could groom to be like himself. Problem is that Trev was born with facial flaws that make him... *cough* less than attractive. His father's solution is to force him into surgery to "fix" his face, but Trev doesn't want that. It's clear that his father doesn't care about Trev's wants though and is even willing to drug him into submission... *if* he figures out where Trev is hiding, anyway.
We start the story with Graysha, a woman with a genetic disease (a made-up one called "Flaherty's"). Low blood sugar-especially over-exertion when her sugar is low- can send her entire body cramping up until she can't move. As I recall, it's also slowly causing problems with her arteries and will eventually kill her at a young age. And there's no cure. Yet. Despite her illness she begins working in the microbiology department of a planet called Goddard, which is being terraformed to try to make it habitable for humans in the future. As the synopsis states, she's taken the job partially to get out of debt caused by a divorce, and in the desperate hope that the rumors concerning possible (illegal) genetic research among the colonists might be true and able to cure her.
What I loved about this story was its complexity and depth. While mainly about the many challenges and complications that could come with terraforming a plenet, there's also political machinations, attempted murder, discussions of faith, and a small sprinkling of romance.
Those who are tired of romance taking over stories that are supposed to be about other things, you'll be happy to know that's not the case here. The romance is very much a slow burn sub plot and the couple doesn't even kiss until nearly the end. There is one jerk who'safter Graysha for a while but she's smart and mature enough to understand he just wants to make her another notch in his belt and eventually tells him to buzz off completely. (I cheered. :p)
The political intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat as the characters tried to figure out who's sabatoging the planet, who's trying to hurt, if not kill Graysha, and who attempted to murder the current political leader, who never did anything to hurt anyone himself.
I also thought the faith element was particularly well done. There's enough of it to make the book Christian fiction, but it's not preaching *at* the reader, while also not watering faith down as feel-good fluff. It's a very natural feeling plot element as Graysha has fallen away from her mother's apostate "church" (which has started worshiping the human organism as holy rather than its creator, God) and is grappling with what she believes now. The author does a really great job showing how there are plenty of people who may call themselves "Christian", but unless it agrees with the Bible that Jesus is God, the creator of all things, and teaches that He should be the center of your life above all else, it ain't Christianity.
But really, the main focus of the story is the planet and making it habitable and all the complications that come with that. I especially thought it was cool that Tyers apparently has a degree in microbiology and was able to use that knowledge with Graysha also being a microbiologist.
Even as long as this book was, and as long as it took me to finish, I honestly wasn't quite ready for it to end when it did. A part of me wanted it to keep going so I could see the colonists survive and thrive and generally thumb their noses at the Gaea Consortium for what they did to them (no spoilers, LOL). But all things considered, Tyers ended it in a good place, leaving you with a sense of hope.
I give Shivering World a shining 5 stars and look forward to discovering more of this author's works, which my mother assures me are also excellent.
Content Advisory:
Violence:
As the book starts, Graysha learns that the person who held her job before her died, and may have been intentionally sent out into the storm that killed him.
Someone attempts to harm and even kill Graysha multiple times (attempted crushing with metal crates, poisoning, and carbon monoxide) hoping to make it look like an accident. Some of these are close calls and we do read of some of Graysha's pain when her muscle cramp attacks and collapses happen.
More attempted murder happens when another character is infected with a fictional insulin-producing bacteria that almost kills him. We read of this person in the hospital while the doctor tries to stabilize them but there are no gross descriptions or anything of that nature.
One character has no choice but to shoot and kill someone in defense of himself and another person. Blood is mentioned in a brief, sentence-long description of the body on the floor and the person is very shaken by having had to make that choice.
Trev gets scratched up by some scifi cat/weasel combo critters. Pain is mentioned and he bleeds a bit, but the scratches aren't serious.
A plane crash happens, causing the pilot to be knocked unconscious. Mention of a bloody gash on his head.
Novia orders a medical clinic to be destroyed by missile. There is an audio recording that gives warning to the people inside, but it is made clear that the attack will still happen whether the people inside leave or not. The reader knows that the people do escape, but when Novia is told that there were still heat signals inside when the missile was launched, she doesn't care.
Sexual:
One of Graysha's new co-workers is a well known womanizer who locks his sights on Graysha the moment they meet. A female coworker warns Graysha of "social diseases" and tells her that the guy has gone after pretty much every female Gaea employee and even some of the young female colonists. His interactions with Graysha are always flirtatious. She describes the way he looks at her as intensely sexual and says he makes her feel certain "urges" she hasn't felt since she was with her ex-husband. However, despite these physical responses she understands that he will never truly love or respect her. When he gets her alone and tries to romance her, she allows him to kiss her once (mild description) but then tells him she believes in marriage and can't let this go further. He backs off but makes it clear the offer is still open. She puts up with him continuing to be flirtatious until he tries once again to get her alone and she finally stands up for herself and tells him she won't tolerate it anymore and he needs to stop this permanently. She avoids him as much as possible after that.
Graysha and Lindon experience attraction that grows very slowly during the story. Once the relationship becomes serious they share a couple kisses now and then (mild description each time) but overall the relationship is much more focused on the emotional and spiritual connection between them than the physical and is much healthier than Graysha's relationship with her ex husband (who was a sociopath.)
An adult woman with questionable morals in multiple areas, acts flirtatious with a teenage boy in order to get information out of him as someone else. He is of age to be married on that planet but it's still a tad uncomfortable as you know the woman is manipulating him. It seems nothing major or overly inappropriate happens between them, though, other than her dancing for him and him singing for her.
Spiritual:
As stated in the review, the story features characters with many different beliefs, some of which are only pretending to be Christianity until it is later revealed that their beliefs have nothing whatsoever to do with the Bible's actual teaching or any relationship with Jesus.
Graysha's mother, Novia, is part of an apostate church that has basically started worshipping the "holy" human organism over the God who made it. In fact, they call their church the "Church of the Universal Father" (CUF) because they basically don't care who you think God is as long you hold the human body sacred and never do anything to genetically alter or even heal it. They consider anyone who does so to be less than human and undeserving of basic human rights.
Another character pretends for political reasons to be part of the Lwuite (the colonists are called Lwuites) church but proves herself an atheist.
The Lwuites as a people may not all hold the same spiritual beliefs but some at least, including Lindon, practice biblical Christianity.
At the start, Graysha has fallen away from the apostate CUF but doesn't know what she actually believes. During the story (in between all the scifi stuff) she grapples with the contrast between what the CUF taught her, what Lindon believes (which she sees reflected in his behavior and choices) and what she reads in the e-copy of the book of John that he lends her. She does eventually accept Jesus as her personal savior.
Other:
Graysha's ex-husband, Ellard, was a sociopath who treated her badly during their marriage, constantly blaming her for everything and putting her down. Though she has moved on from him, some of the lingering effects of his treatment of her are apparent. However, this is something she slowly overcomes.
There's talk of how some of those who were caught doing genetic research and alteration were treated by the Eugenics Board in the past. They were given full-body irradiation to destroy the alterations and then put in jail and allowed to die of the many cancers the irradiation caused them. This is given as second hand information, though. No descriptions.
A teenage boy named Trev has come to Goddard in order to hide from his father, a pop star with serious issues around perfection. His father has gotten surgical alterations over the years to make himself has gorgeous as possible. It seems that he married a famous and gorgeous woman with the goal of having a gorgeous child he could groom to be like himself. Problem is that Trev was born with facial flaws that make him... *cough* less than attractive. His father's solution is to force him into surgery to "fix" his face, but Trev doesn't want that. It's clear that his father doesn't care about Trev's wants though and is even willing to drug him into submission... *if* he figures out where Trev is hiding, anyway.
August 15, 2018
The planet of Goddard is in just the beginning stages of terraforming. Current residents are the Gaea Consortium scientists working on getting the planet stable and the Lwuite colonists, a religious sect with all sorts of rumors about them. Graysha Brady-Phillips is the newest Gaea employee to arrive. Outwardly she’s there because the former soils specialist died and she needed a good paying job. Secretly she’s hoping that some of the rumors about the Lwuites are true and they do illegal genetic engineering that could give a woman with Flaherty’s syndrome hope. Unfortunately, Graysha’s mother is the infamous lead crusader on the Eugenics Board that hunts down any such illegal activity. As soon as Graysha arrives on planet she’s suspected of being a spy for her mother. Not only that, but something is going on with the terraforming on Goddard and Graysha’s predecessor might have been killed because of it. Graysha may be just too smart for her own good and now she has multiple groups out to get rid of her one way or another. And as if that weren’t enough drama for one startup planet, the colonists are having sudden elections to decide their leader and a stowaway arrives who has a big and powerful father with a history of leaving places his son tries to hide at in smoldering piles.
I was attracted to this by the description. It took me a few days to realize I already had an older copy of this book on our library shelves, with a darker cover. I’m glad it is getting a revamped cover because the old one was obviously not attracting much attention. This was a fascinating read with a lot going on in it. The science aspects are very well done and make you feel like terraforming is a practice that Tyers actually observed to be able to write about in such detail. All the power plays at work on the planet certainly make this an edge-of-your-seat read. I wasn’t sure for quite a while how things were going to work out. Even right up until the end there was a lot unsure. I’m kind of hoping that the re-release means that Tyers has a sequel coming out because I would like to know more about what happens after that final page. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a great read as it is, but more would be great too. If you like scifi that’s rich in actual science and/or very believable near-future science give this a try. Also a good choice for those who like Christian speculative fiction (some of the Lwuites are religious, in fact Christian, and some of the politics revolves around a don’t tell don’t ask law about religion, and the Eugenics Board claims their principles are based on Christianity but it is really more of a cult that has picked and chosen what is convenient for them). And you can also hand this to those who enjoy political thrillers.
Notes on content: No language issues. One guy tries to seduce women on a regular basis but he’s viewed as a slime ball and there are no details. There is some kissing but nothing more. There are several murder attempts (none gory) and one past murder (but it isn’t described). Some bruises and scratches described and one surgery vaguely described.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was attracted to this by the description. It took me a few days to realize I already had an older copy of this book on our library shelves, with a darker cover. I’m glad it is getting a revamped cover because the old one was obviously not attracting much attention. This was a fascinating read with a lot going on in it. The science aspects are very well done and make you feel like terraforming is a practice that Tyers actually observed to be able to write about in such detail. All the power plays at work on the planet certainly make this an edge-of-your-seat read. I wasn’t sure for quite a while how things were going to work out. Even right up until the end there was a lot unsure. I’m kind of hoping that the re-release means that Tyers has a sequel coming out because I would like to know more about what happens after that final page. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a great read as it is, but more would be great too. If you like scifi that’s rich in actual science and/or very believable near-future science give this a try. Also a good choice for those who like Christian speculative fiction (some of the Lwuites are religious, in fact Christian, and some of the politics revolves around a don’t tell don’t ask law about religion, and the Eugenics Board claims their principles are based on Christianity but it is really more of a cult that has picked and chosen what is convenient for them). And you can also hand this to those who enjoy political thrillers.
Notes on content: No language issues. One guy tries to seduce women on a regular basis but he’s viewed as a slime ball and there are no details. There is some kissing but nothing more. There are several murder attempts (none gory) and one past murder (but it isn’t described). Some bruises and scratches described and one surgery vaguely described.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 12, 2009
I haven't read any SF in a while but this wasn't bad. The world was interesting, the struggles seemed genuine and the characterization was also good. This books fits in an unusual category. I would call it Religious Science Fiction or perhaps Christian Science Fiction? The religious beliefs of the key characters became somewhat important. It only bothered me that talking about the Christian Lord in this universe so far removed from Earth felt rather forced...like to get published by this publisher or in this series. I have a feeling from the author's comments/acknowledgements, that she is a fairly devout Christian, but nevertheless I would have found it somewhat stronger without such overt ties. I think the writer meant them to not be a strong Christian agenda but it popped out at me somewhat anyway.
November 19, 2018
I’ve read quite a few of Kathy’s books over the last decade or so, but “Shivering World” is my new favorite. It is solid and compelling hard science fiction from beginning to end. The characters are multilayered, the setting feels legitimate, and the plot moves along at a steady pace. Even though the book is on the long side, it never felt superfluous, thin, or slow. Due to the demands on my time, it took longer to finish then I would’ve liked. Yet I never had a problem stepping right back into world and enjoying the experience. Even if only for a page or two. (That’s the mark of a good book there.) Can’t say enough for this book. I loved it! (We need more!)
February 18, 2012
To be honest, the five star rating is for the original version of the book-- the rewrite for the Christian market was still good, but as I've commented on her Firebird series, the prose is somehow changed with the rewrite. I had read the general market version first, which was on the preliminary list for the Nebula Awards or something like that. Beautiful hard science fiction, yet with a strong focus on characters and a lot of gene-tech and biological science (in other words, not just nuts'n'bolts), and as early as 1991 (I don't think that side of sci-fi had caught on all that much at that time-- but maybe I just hadn't read enough from the 80s). But as soon as I read the first paragraph in the new version I knew something was wrong. I don't know exactly how to explain it-- maybe if I went over the syntax and word choice in more detail (it's been a few years since I've looked at it) I would be able to characterize the changes, but the first version feels like it speaks the "language" of sci-fi (in terms of prose stylistics, I suppose), while the second feels like it speaks the language of contemporary Christian fiction-- which maybe isn't so weird, because I remember Kathy saying that she wanted to branch out into more contempory romance (it might have been prarie romance), but it was disappointing for me, and was also a really interesting moment-- before I hadn't really been aware of how important the subtleties of the prose are. And of course, I'm all for an original style and voice, but in this case I prefered the first version.
All that aside-- this is a great book, and certainly worth a Nebula award. Lots of interesting issues with the "Other", only in this case the Other is humanity's children, illegally genetically engineered humans-- and there is also the planetary Other, which is also being engineered (terraformed), and then there is the Mother-Daughter relationship at the heart of the book which all these instances of "Otherness", ownership and control are interwoven with. The whole mother-daughter issue comes up in nearly all Tyers' work (maybe all, if we expand it to parent-child), something I'd love to write about some day (along with the issue of the Other)-- not to turn it into an analysis of Kathy Tyers herself, of course, but it certainly seems to be a rich strand in her work.
I've mentioned this book several times on my blog. Will probably write a more thorough discussion one of these days, but for now here are the links:
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
All that aside-- this is a great book, and certainly worth a Nebula award. Lots of interesting issues with the "Other", only in this case the Other is humanity's children, illegally genetically engineered humans-- and there is also the planetary Other, which is also being engineered (terraformed), and then there is the Mother-Daughter relationship at the heart of the book which all these instances of "Otherness", ownership and control are interwoven with. The whole mother-daughter issue comes up in nearly all Tyers' work (maybe all, if we expand it to parent-child), something I'd love to write about some day (along with the issue of the Other)-- not to turn it into an analysis of Kathy Tyers herself, of course, but it certainly seems to be a rich strand in her work.
I've mentioned this book several times on my blog. Will probably write a more thorough discussion one of these days, but for now here are the links:
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/...
June 18, 2018
Incredible hardcore science fiction tackling topics like genetics, terraforming, and outer-world politics. Tyers has a mastery over the concepts of world building and science that makes reading her work realistic and vibrant.
October 8, 2025
I liked the geology and space aspects, but this was a little dull for me. Maybe it was I didn’t enjoy the characters very much.
June 30, 2018
ARC Copy...It was a long read but interesting read offering a complex narrative on the nature of the human self + spirit in relations to natural and the "unnatural" facets of radical genetic-engineering. I did like the female protagonist is very much strong in fortitude despite her genetic flaws and the workings behind the genetics feel solid.
September 15, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I think it can be read at two levels.
On the surface, it is an interesting and well written sci-fi novel that has well-rounded characters and pacing and a good premise.
Or, all of the aforementioned while also diving into the deep and thorny philosophical issue of Eugenics and how that would affect the Human Race. In real life, Eugenics has been tried before - it was particularly in vogue during the 1930s - and has been generally rejected as unethical. But should humanity be allowed to try again? Or is the genome sacred as it is, untampered?
The book's concept of a Eugenics Board that seemed to work as a police force to keep the human genome "pure" was frightening. They claim to have been set up to stop The Troubles of 2030 caused by genetically modified humans from ever happening again. So you know it will go bad when they find out there is a whole planet of 15,000 people who are gene modified.
And yet, the story was much more personal than that. If you knew you had a genetic disease that will kill you before 50, that you would never want to pass on to children, would you do anything possible to get close to the people who might be able to fix that? Even if that practice was illegal and your mother is the head of said Eugenics Board?
As someone who lives with a genetic chronic illness myself, Eugenics has always been an interesting ethical conundrum.
At what point is filtering "defective" embryos or (in the future) the possibility of being able to correct those defective genes crossing the line to making those born unmodified and not perfect as "less-than", or (borrowing a term from the movie Gattaca) "invalid". Or, as the Eugenics Board does in the book, labeling those who have been modified, however slightly as "unhuman".
It's hard. If I had the choice to correct my genes or those of my future children, it is likely I would take that chance. And yet. I would not be the same person if I had not gone through what I have, and I believe I am not "less than".
So, on the whole, a great book that I found surprisingly personally relatable to. It was an easy enough read despite having a microbiologist as its main character, so there were some technical terms. And the philosophical side wasn't rammed down your throat, so it didn't need to be engaged with unless you are that way inclined - as I am. 🙂
I think it can be read at two levels.
On the surface, it is an interesting and well written sci-fi novel that has well-rounded characters and pacing and a good premise.
Or, all of the aforementioned while also diving into the deep and thorny philosophical issue of Eugenics and how that would affect the Human Race. In real life, Eugenics has been tried before - it was particularly in vogue during the 1930s - and has been generally rejected as unethical. But should humanity be allowed to try again? Or is the genome sacred as it is, untampered?
The book's concept of a Eugenics Board that seemed to work as a police force to keep the human genome "pure" was frightening. They claim to have been set up to stop The Troubles of 2030 caused by genetically modified humans from ever happening again. So you know it will go bad when they find out there is a whole planet of 15,000 people who are gene modified.
And yet, the story was much more personal than that. If you knew you had a genetic disease that will kill you before 50, that you would never want to pass on to children, would you do anything possible to get close to the people who might be able to fix that? Even if that practice was illegal and your mother is the head of said Eugenics Board?
As someone who lives with a genetic chronic illness myself, Eugenics has always been an interesting ethical conundrum.
At what point is filtering "defective" embryos or (in the future) the possibility of being able to correct those defective genes crossing the line to making those born unmodified and not perfect as "less-than", or (borrowing a term from the movie Gattaca) "invalid". Or, as the Eugenics Board does in the book, labeling those who have been modified, however slightly as "unhuman".
It's hard. If I had the choice to correct my genes or those of my future children, it is likely I would take that chance. And yet. I would not be the same person if I had not gone through what I have, and I believe I am not "less than".
So, on the whole, a great book that I found surprisingly personally relatable to. It was an easy enough read despite having a microbiologist as its main character, so there were some technical terms. And the philosophical side wasn't rammed down your throat, so it didn't need to be engaged with unless you are that way inclined - as I am. 🙂
January 28, 2015
Kathy Tyers has fast become one of my favorite authors, and she proves it again in each novel she writes. There's such depth in her science fiction. Sometimes I have to read the sentences carefully to keep track of the fictional names, but it's well worth it.
November 20, 2009
Hard to get into but very interesting when you do!
December 1, 2019
I’ve always wanted to read a Kathy Tyers novel as she is so highly regarded in Christian SciFi circles and is a revered master of the writing craft. Even though I’m not a huge SciFi enthusiast I approached Shivering World with some excitement and even reverence for Tyers.
And I was not disappointed. The story world was brilliantly depicted – 2134 on a new terraformed planet Goddard. We meet Dr Graysha Brady-Phillips, who is fully human escaping her dominant mother who happens to be very influential in this new world while seeking to find a solution to the genetic disorder that will cut her life short.
The colonists on Goddard are genetically enhanced humans, some people including Graysha’s mom regard them as abominations and believe them to be abhorrent to God. However, one of the main characters soon to become of particular interest to Graysha is Lindon who is a gorgeous creation but has a solid faith in God.
Tyers challenges the reader to consider the question of can humanity play God in significantly enhancing the human body enabling it to live for all intents and purposes for an indefinite lifetime. And what should non-gene-enhanced people respond to those gene-enhanced ones? As is often the case, people react out of fear when confronted with ‘differences’ in race and we see this portrayed in this story.
We also see the power of the Corporation in the future of mankind. We’re all very away of it now and in Tyers future represented here we see Gaea Foundation’s power and influence over the Goddard colonists, one that could easily mean the difference between life and death. Scary stuff.
I liked how she developed Graysha and Lindon plus a couple of the other minor characters such as Trev LZalle but it’s Tyers story world and the ease with which she brings it and all its complexities alive in the readers imagination that makes this a compelling read.
The story ends a little sluggishly which made me wonder if there is a sequel planned but I understand this was originally written many years ago so I’m not sure a sequel is forthcoming.
If you enjoy SciFi you should give this one a read. I think you’ll find it both fascinating and challenging in some of the questions it challenges you to consider.
And I was not disappointed. The story world was brilliantly depicted – 2134 on a new terraformed planet Goddard. We meet Dr Graysha Brady-Phillips, who is fully human escaping her dominant mother who happens to be very influential in this new world while seeking to find a solution to the genetic disorder that will cut her life short.
The colonists on Goddard are genetically enhanced humans, some people including Graysha’s mom regard them as abominations and believe them to be abhorrent to God. However, one of the main characters soon to become of particular interest to Graysha is Lindon who is a gorgeous creation but has a solid faith in God.
Tyers challenges the reader to consider the question of can humanity play God in significantly enhancing the human body enabling it to live for all intents and purposes for an indefinite lifetime. And what should non-gene-enhanced people respond to those gene-enhanced ones? As is often the case, people react out of fear when confronted with ‘differences’ in race and we see this portrayed in this story.
We also see the power of the Corporation in the future of mankind. We’re all very away of it now and in Tyers future represented here we see Gaea Foundation’s power and influence over the Goddard colonists, one that could easily mean the difference between life and death. Scary stuff.
I liked how she developed Graysha and Lindon plus a couple of the other minor characters such as Trev LZalle but it’s Tyers story world and the ease with which she brings it and all its complexities alive in the readers imagination that makes this a compelling read.
The story ends a little sluggishly which made me wonder if there is a sequel planned but I understand this was originally written many years ago so I’m not sure a sequel is forthcoming.
If you enjoy SciFi you should give this one a read. I think you’ll find it both fascinating and challenging in some of the questions it challenges you to consider.
July 19, 2018
Writing: 3 Plot: 4 Characters: 4
Fast paced sci-fi novel about the various people involved in trying to create a new viable planet (Goddard) through terraforming in the year 2134. In this universe, gene manipulation is both illegal and considered a denial of “the perfection of God’s creation” by the Universal Church. However, the Hwuite colonists have long been suspected of maintaining the technology to do just that. Women form the majority of the governing bodies as men have been deemed “too aggressive” to be fit leaders. And the Religious Liberty Act has made it illegal to proselytize any religion without a duly registered inquiry.
Graysha Brady Phillips suffers from a genetic disorder which both limits her lifespan and makes it inadvisable to have children. She goes to Goddard as a soils engineer in the hopes of unearthing illegal gene manipulation techniques that might save her — or at least enable her to have children without passing on the defect. What she discovers, however, is a viper’s nest of clashing agendas and a terraforming effort that appears to be going horribly wrong. Goddard appears to be cooling, rather than heating up.
Each character is the star of their own story, with their own goals and their own approaches toward others who don’t share those goals. No “good guys” vs “bad guys” (though some characters are a lot more irritating than others). I was originally put off by the “Christian / SF fiction” billing but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was mostly SF with a smattering of philosophical and heart felt Christianity. I loved the pioneer spirit embedded in the colonists.
A good read for fans of Kim Stanley Robinson, Tyers combines science (terraforming, gene manipulation, hostile planet survival) with political and cultural clashes to make for a compelling narrative. Plenty of surprises throughout.
Fast paced sci-fi novel about the various people involved in trying to create a new viable planet (Goddard) through terraforming in the year 2134. In this universe, gene manipulation is both illegal and considered a denial of “the perfection of God’s creation” by the Universal Church. However, the Hwuite colonists have long been suspected of maintaining the technology to do just that. Women form the majority of the governing bodies as men have been deemed “too aggressive” to be fit leaders. And the Religious Liberty Act has made it illegal to proselytize any religion without a duly registered inquiry.
Graysha Brady Phillips suffers from a genetic disorder which both limits her lifespan and makes it inadvisable to have children. She goes to Goddard as a soils engineer in the hopes of unearthing illegal gene manipulation techniques that might save her — or at least enable her to have children without passing on the defect. What she discovers, however, is a viper’s nest of clashing agendas and a terraforming effort that appears to be going horribly wrong. Goddard appears to be cooling, rather than heating up.
Each character is the star of their own story, with their own goals and their own approaches toward others who don’t share those goals. No “good guys” vs “bad guys” (though some characters are a lot more irritating than others). I was originally put off by the “Christian / SF fiction” billing but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was mostly SF with a smattering of philosophical and heart felt Christianity. I loved the pioneer spirit embedded in the colonists.
A good read for fans of Kim Stanley Robinson, Tyers combines science (terraforming, gene manipulation, hostile planet survival) with political and cultural clashes to make for a compelling narrative. Plenty of surprises throughout.
February 4, 2024
Graysha Brady-Phillips has travelled to the burgeoning world of Goddard for two reasons - the money, and the chance that the colonists there might fix her faulty genes. But this kind of genetic tampering is illegal and her mother is notoriously against it. Graysha soon becomes a target of the people whose help she seeks. And meanwhile, the planet itself might be dying...
Ooh this is such a hard book to rate. It's incredibly problematic (if I made a list of all the issues, it'd be at least 10-20 pages long), but it's also a fascinating glimpse into the social changes occurring at that time (late 1980s/early 1990s). Tyers comes sooo close to discovering the pitfalls of rape culture here, but her work ultimately falls victim to it. I will say that this book is leagues above her preceding novels, as it's more complex and grapples more confidently with particular issues. It's obvious that much of Shivering World covers territory that is very personal to Tyers.
But it's not a great book. It gets bogged down in setup for more than half the page count and only hits its stride in the last few chapters. The rampant sexism, racism, and ableism I've come to expect from Tyers' work are hard to overlook. The religious overtones have also become tiresomely repetitive.
This all said, I might hang on to this battered secondhand paperback... the premise was intriguing and the copy I found is signed.
Ooh this is such a hard book to rate. It's incredibly problematic (if I made a list of all the issues, it'd be at least 10-20 pages long), but it's also a fascinating glimpse into the social changes occurring at that time (late 1980s/early 1990s). Tyers comes sooo close to discovering the pitfalls of rape culture here, but her work ultimately falls victim to it. I will say that this book is leagues above her preceding novels, as it's more complex and grapples more confidently with particular issues. It's obvious that much of Shivering World covers territory that is very personal to Tyers.
But it's not a great book. It gets bogged down in setup for more than half the page count and only hits its stride in the last few chapters. The rampant sexism, racism, and ableism I've come to expect from Tyers' work are hard to overlook. The religious overtones have also become tiresomely repetitive.
This all said, I might hang on to this battered secondhand paperback... the premise was intriguing and the copy I found is signed.
August 29, 2018
Shivering World was an utterly fascinating read.
My favorite best part was the conflict at the center of the book. Graysha is dying of a genetic disorder, and her only hope is to get someone to fix her genes, which is outlawed. She goes to the Lwuites, who are rumored to have a genetic clinic. However, Graysha’s mom is the one in charge of prosecuting genetic engineers. So, even if Graysha can gain their trust, her mom will find out via genetic testing, and the Lwuites will lose everything. They want her dead, she wants their help, her mom wants to take down their whole society.
I also really enjoyed the in-depth terraforming. I’ve always had a soft spot for colonizing new worlds, so this book was fun for me.
Oh yeah, and the characters. Each have their own semi-selfish, conflicting motives for what they do. Even people on the same “side” of the conflict end up at odds with each other. I loved that.
The only part I didn’t like was that the story moved a little slow. It’s hard SF, so I get that the science is part of the action. And I enjoyed the science. But it took me a bit of time and energy to get through this book.
That said, I still loved it. I loved the imagination involved in creating this world. The characters were great. The world was a fascinating one to live in. Five stars from me.
My favorite best part was the conflict at the center of the book. Graysha is dying of a genetic disorder, and her only hope is to get someone to fix her genes, which is outlawed. She goes to the Lwuites, who are rumored to have a genetic clinic. However, Graysha’s mom is the one in charge of prosecuting genetic engineers. So, even if Graysha can gain their trust, her mom will find out via genetic testing, and the Lwuites will lose everything. They want her dead, she wants their help, her mom wants to take down their whole society.
I also really enjoyed the in-depth terraforming. I’ve always had a soft spot for colonizing new worlds, so this book was fun for me.
Oh yeah, and the characters. Each have their own semi-selfish, conflicting motives for what they do. Even people on the same “side” of the conflict end up at odds with each other. I loved that.
The only part I didn’t like was that the story moved a little slow. It’s hard SF, so I get that the science is part of the action. And I enjoyed the science. But it took me a bit of time and energy to get through this book.
That said, I still loved it. I loved the imagination involved in creating this world. The characters were great. The world was a fascinating one to live in. Five stars from me.
February 18, 2023
I found this book to be rather original and creative. Issues that are relevant now, or may be in the future, are addressed but not in a preachy way. It was a fun, adventurous, sometimes tense story, that ends on a hopeful note.
I originally got the book as part of a lot that included other books I was looking for. It sat on my shelf for a while, as I waited until I was in the right mood for this type of genre. Halfway through reading it, I was liking it well enough to see if the author had written other books. I was surprised to see that she had written 2 titles in the "Star Wars" series, which makes sense, given her talent and detail in describing space worlds, habitats, science/tech, etc.
The author was not afraid to insert dialogue about and explanation of various beliefs, including her own Christian worldview that comes through in some of the characters. It is interesting to see how various characters view or express said beliefs, and either outright reject any understanding of someone who sees the world(s) and people differently, or are open to working with others with whom they differ, or even have their perceptions changed. She did this well, along with just writing an interesting story in general, and I think I would enjoy reading other books by her.
I originally got the book as part of a lot that included other books I was looking for. It sat on my shelf for a while, as I waited until I was in the right mood for this type of genre. Halfway through reading it, I was liking it well enough to see if the author had written other books. I was surprised to see that she had written 2 titles in the "Star Wars" series, which makes sense, given her talent and detail in describing space worlds, habitats, science/tech, etc.
The author was not afraid to insert dialogue about and explanation of various beliefs, including her own Christian worldview that comes through in some of the characters. It is interesting to see how various characters view or express said beliefs, and either outright reject any understanding of someone who sees the world(s) and people differently, or are open to working with others with whom they differ, or even have their perceptions changed. She did this well, along with just writing an interesting story in general, and I think I would enjoy reading other books by her.
August 13, 2019
I can't believe it's over! I sure hope there is a sequel because we are left on a frozen planet with no hope of escape and enemies still out there!
I can't say that I always knew what was going on or where I was or who I was with in this story. There are a lot of characters and sometimes we went to another character for their part in the story and that's usually when I leave the story and lose interest, but not this time.
Graysha has a genetic disease and she is going to die young (well, for this story where people can live up to 150 years old). She wants a family, but will pass on her genetic anomaly if she bears children. Her last years look like they will be lonely ones.
Enter Lindon. He is the chairman of the Goddard plantet of which there are two factions. The Lwuites and the Gaea Scientists. Not all of the Lwuite colonists have a true faith in God, but Lindon does. Graysha is a Scientist who hates the religion of her mother which she thinks is the same religion that Lindon subscribes to. Graysha came to Goddard in hopes that the Lwuites would fix her problem but over time she comes to love this little orb in outerspace and Lindon as well.
So good, and clean.
I can't say that I always knew what was going on or where I was or who I was with in this story. There are a lot of characters and sometimes we went to another character for their part in the story and that's usually when I leave the story and lose interest, but not this time.
Graysha has a genetic disease and she is going to die young (well, for this story where people can live up to 150 years old). She wants a family, but will pass on her genetic anomaly if she bears children. Her last years look like they will be lonely ones.
Enter Lindon. He is the chairman of the Goddard plantet of which there are two factions. The Lwuites and the Gaea Scientists. Not all of the Lwuite colonists have a true faith in God, but Lindon does. Graysha is a Scientist who hates the religion of her mother which she thinks is the same religion that Lindon subscribes to. Graysha came to Goddard in hopes that the Lwuites would fix her problem but over time she comes to love this little orb in outerspace and Lindon as well.
So good, and clean.
May 4, 2021
This book was WONDERFUL! From the futuristic aspects to the strong faith threads, everything about this book was so fascinating and gave me MANY hours of enjoyment as an audiobook. Also, I absolutely shipped the slight romance that appeared in this story and was so intrigued by all the different space/science elements and also the cultural phenomenons that occurred from a group of people trying to build an entirely new civilization.
There's deep conflict, mortal danger, new creatures, fascinating science, and touching romance all wrapped up in one epic story.
My one utter, crushing, melting disappointment was the ending. It is a massive cliffhanger and (I suppose) meant to encourage the readers to complete parts of the story in their own minds, but I was so expecting more and utterly crushed when I found out that was it. However, I suppose even my deep disappointment was a testament to the wonderful storytelling in this awesome book.
There's deep conflict, mortal danger, new creatures, fascinating science, and touching romance all wrapped up in one epic story.
My one utter, crushing, melting disappointment was the ending. It is a massive cliffhanger and (I suppose) meant to encourage the readers to complete parts of the story in their own minds, but I was so expecting more and utterly crushed when I found out that was it. However, I suppose even my deep disappointment was a testament to the wonderful storytelling in this awesome book.
May 11, 2020
Science really isn’t my thing, so it took me a while to get in to the book (the first third took me longer to get through than the last two thirds did). Once the plot started moving along though, I couldn’t put it down. The one thing that I felt could have been developed more was the relationship development between Lindon and Graysha. First they don’t trust each other, then there is a respect but they still don’t know if they can trust each other, and then out of nowhere they are in love and talking about getting married. Overall, I did enjoy this book, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read it before her Firebird series because that series was so good that my expectations for this book were higher than they probably would have otherwise been.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2019
Great, engaging sci fi. (Not my usual genre but I always enjoy books where genetics are involved)
I really fell in love with the characters. Their humanity in the otherwise distant, cold world of a barely taraformed planet really allowed the story to shine. I especially loved Graysha and Lindon, and Trev was a great addition.
I also loved how Christianity was portrayed in this story, I felt their faith and their struggle to believe, but the ending brought everything into hopeful perspective. Well done. :)
I really fell in love with the characters. Their humanity in the otherwise distant, cold world of a barely taraformed planet really allowed the story to shine. I especially loved Graysha and Lindon, and Trev was a great addition.
I also loved how Christianity was portrayed in this story, I felt their faith and their struggle to believe, but the ending brought everything into hopeful perspective. Well done. :)
July 18, 2018
I’ve been a long time fan of Kathy Tyers’ work and was delighted to read Shivering World. Definitely the more ‘hard science’ read of her books, I enjoyed seeing her explore the quandaries of what impact different technologies could have on humanity and how a more faith-based people group would navigate it. It left me pondering some ‘what ifs,’ which good science fiction should do. I would recommend this read!
July 26, 2018
Very well written book. Great Characters, solid mystery thread. Needs a sequel though, or at least an extended ending.
(MILD SPOILER WARNING)
It ended quite abruptly. We never found out about how things turned out for the heroes in the end, if they succeeded or failed, lived or died. And most of the villains get away. Only one who got taken down was the one who hardly did anything worth mentioning.
(MILD SPOILER WARNING)
It ended quite abruptly. We never found out about how things turned out for the heroes in the end, if they succeeded or failed, lived or died. And most of the villains get away. Only one who got taken down was the one who hardly did anything worth mentioning.
September 25, 2022
This book is well-written, with a multifaceted plot, interesting terraforming science, and some discussion of controversial subjects. Discussion points did feel underdeveloped in terms of nuance; but my main struggle was that the characters were rarely given time to breathe, making them feel less... alive. However, I know many readers won't find this to be a detractor, and will appreciate the constant plot turns.
March 31, 2019
This book just moved so slowly...I had to put it down twice and read something else for a while. I cared about the characters, but there was a lot of technology talk. Something of a mystery set in space, with many ethical questions arising, I was interested in the resolution, most of which were left for the reader to work out.
March 17, 2020
Maybe this just wasn’t my book. I found it very hard to read and it took almost 200 pages before I felt connected. I should have put it down but I hate not finishing a book once I’ve started.
The names of characters were difficult to keep straight and lots of science lingo that was a little hard to follow.
The names of characters were difficult to keep straight and lots of science lingo that was a little hard to follow.
May 15, 2021
It's been a long time since I've read any science fiction, but I do like Kathy Tyers--her Firebird series was wonderful. "Shivering World" was no exception. Even though I groped through the terminology of an unfamiliar world, I thoroughly enjoyed the read. The love story and spiritual threads were well done. Looking forward to catching up and reading more of this author.
January 31, 2022
Fascinating book. Graysha moves to a world being terraformed in hopes of finding a genetic cure for her terminal illness. The snag is that genetic manipulation is illegal with terrible and terminal consequences. I enjoyed the details about terraforming and the biology involved. The characters and their storylines are interesting and believable. I enjoyed the book.
August 16, 2018
I liked this Christian SciFi. It was interesting and exciting. My only problem with the book was the ending. Not enough closure. Too many loose ends. So I sincerely hope she’s planning a sequel. I wanted to give it a 4.5 rating I can you do that? Couldn’t figure out how.
January 2, 2021
It wasn't as good as other books by Kathy Tyers that I've read, but I still enjoyed it! I guess I would say that the reading level is a little advanced for me, and I haven't come across a book like that in a while. XD
Totally recommended for anyone interested in Microbiology!!
Totally recommended for anyone interested in Microbiology!!
January 7, 2025
Was very surprised at the depth of the world-building. I have never read a book that really tackles what terraforming a planet would actually entail for the people on the ground, and this did it spectacularly. The story was somewhat slow-moving for me, but that's a style issue. Strongly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews